Carved
Bone LIZARD AMULET
When Columbus first landed on the islands
of the Bahamian archipelago, he described the animal life as follows: "On
land I saw no animal of any kind except parrots and lizards." Today there
are few to no natural parrots on the Islands, but there still are lizards.
This bone carving is probably of an Iguana deity, and was originally part
of a larger piece such as a scepter. This lizard figure apparently
was broken off in ancient times (this is apparent from close inspection).
A hole was then drilled near the top and the piece appears to have been
worn as a amulet. The original piece was discovered during archeological
excavations in Puerto Rico.

The figure may represent Marohu,
the Spirit of good weather. Marohu was the son of Iguana and was
born in the maternal cavern, Iguanaboina cave. He took for himself
the representation of the Iguana whose dorsal crest looks like rays of
the sun and hence 'good weather'. Together with his twin brother,
Boinayel, God of Rain, the two represent the balance of weather
- between sun and rain. However their clashing egos can cause terrible
catastrophes for humans.

The name iguana or "higuana" is a Taino
word. The syllable "gua" begins the Taino words for gold, parrots, fire,
and the names of many chiefs (caciques). It is possible that "gua" was
a designation for a favored thing. Indeed, iguanas were one of the favored
foods of the Tainos, but by the time the Spanish arrived, iguanas were
so rare they were reserved only for the caciques or chieftains. Other words
were passed not only into Spanish, but also into English, such as huracan
(hurricane) and hamaca (hammock). This beautifully piece was
originally carved from the rib bone of a manatee, an animal much
revered by the natives. The Taino respected all forms of life and
recognized the importance of giving thanks as well as honoring ancestors
and spiritual beings whom they called Cemi. Original pieces
such as this are extremely rare and to our knowledge none have ever previously
been replicated.

Pre-Columbian
TIANO CULTURE
The Taino Culture evolved from an ancient
tribal culture that had colonized Puerto Rico about 8,000 years ago. The
Taino Culture began about 2,500 years ago. They developed a specialized
relationship with this island. They cultivated Yucca and had a long special
squeezing basket technique to extract the cyanide poison, powder the extracted
pulp in wooden mortars and store it for weeks. They also developed a large
special basket to sink on the coral reefs to catch fish. They knew how
to follow the terns and other sea birds that fished for small schools of
fish that were hearded by the numerous tuna. An even easier catch was the
large conch shells that grazed on the shallow beds of sea grass. Huge middens
of shells surround the island. At spectacularly beautiful Phosphorescent
Bay, bioluminescence was used to catch fish. Leatherback turtle eggs were
a seasonal delicacy, as were the forest crabs who ventured from the sea
after the rains into the forests for fruit.

The numerous limestone caves on portions
of this geologically complex island were used for sacred rituals and perhaps
shelter from the hurricanes, a word coined by the Taino. The Tiano had
a special relationship with the sky, sea, earth, forest and the underworld
along the lines of the Mayans. The less rich Environment of the islands
also lacked the corn and other specialties of the Mayans. The Taino are
now known to have built quite large stone ceremonial centers, but no pyramids
as found in in the Yucatan and Central America. They also used halucinogenic
drugs, but from different sources than the Central Americans, which revered
the Tree of Life, mushrooms, olilioqui and other plants. The Taino's sacred
drugs were probably brought along from South America, where the South Americans
are still known to practice similar ancient sacred rituals. Unfortunately,
the Taino numbering almost a million, were almost completely wiped out
by the Spanish within fifty years and little trace remains of their old
native culture and villages.

The Original Artifact

UNIQUE PreCOLUMBIAN ART
Presented Exclusively
by
ECHOES IN TIME
For questions or further information please
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This reproduction was molded directly
from the original Taino bone vomit stickusing a unique, patent pendingtechnology
which exactly duplicates the object without risking direct contact.
This guarantees the safety and integrity of the original antiquity while
permitting an exact duplicate to be produced. The technique
perfectly reproduces the original piece down to it's finest
features. Unlike other reproduction techniques, no modern reinterpretation
or recarving of the piece was necessary. The original artifact is
currently in a private collection and was reproduced by Echoes In Time
under exclusive agreement with the owners.

The reproduction was individually handmade
and hand finished by artisans in USA with particular attention to authenticity
and craftsmanship.

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